HYDERABAD: Scores of private sector employees retiring at age 58 have reason to cheer. The Employee Provident Fund Organization (EPFO) has taken steps to provide them retirement benefits – provident fund money via bank transfer as well as the pension payment order — on the day one retires.
Earlier, this process used to take several weeks, but now it is being expedited. Regional PF Commissioner M. Srikrishna said that the employee’s contribution would have to be remitted by the employer 30 days in advance and the member has to apply 15 days prior to retirement day to be able to get his benefits on the last working day.
The claims process, too, has been simplified with EPFO launching a single page composite form to get different benefits. Members need not go to the EPF office, they can apply online. Also, no supporting documents are required, self-declaration is enough to get advances.
The EPFO also launched a new Citizens/Clients Charter promising that retirement claims would be settled within 10 days, death claims within a week and grievances would be redressed within 15 days. It has also initiated the process of linking members’ UAN with their Aadhaar numbers.
The EPFO also started a Group Housing Scheme through a society for EPF members. Members can withdraw 90 per cent of PF accumulations as well as avail interest subsidy up to Rs 2.2 lakh in credit-linked subsidy scheme under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY).
The employees’ enrolment campaign that started on January 1 will continue until June 30. While a single zonal office was catering to Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Orissa states earlier, Telangana now has its own zonal office with 8 regional offices.
EPFO is organising an exhibition on its initiatives on June 1 at Ravindra Bharathi, in which Union ministers Bandaru Dattatreya and Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi as well as ministers Naini Narsimha Reddy (Telangana) and Pithani Satyanarayana (Andhra Pradesh) will take part.
